Exactly this. Two thirds of the expansion was spent exploring the origins of Pandaria and the history of its natives (not just the Pandaren). What else is left to elaborate on aside from the Pandaren's roles in Allliance and Horde affairs in the expansions to come? Also, given that the expansion is almost over, why are we even having another in a long line of "Pandaren = Joke Race" threads?

Originally Posted by Ulqiorra

If you equate playing WoW to having electricity, I feel very, very happy for the rest of the world, as that kind of thinking will, inevitably, lead to the eradication of your seed from the gene pool.

Exactly this. Two thirds of the expansion was spent exploring the origins of Pandaria and the history of its natives (not just the Pandaren). What else is left to elaborate on aside from the Pandaren's roles in Allliance and Horde affairs in expansions to come? Also, given that the expansion is almost over, why are we even having another in a long line "Pandaren = Joke Race" threads?

There will be more focus on Pandaren than other races for the next expansion because they're finally a part of the rest of the world now. They're no longer an isolated part of the world, not involved with or aware of the events that transpire. How will Pandaren react to everything else? How will they fit into the rest of Azerothian society, how will they deal with going to Draenor and dealing with other worlds. How will they react to the Burning Legion, the Old Gods, and all the other villains we've encountered? How will this change their society?

Why are the poll options from one extreme to another? Obviously they won't be the central focus of new expansions, MoP was their time. They won't get more lore development than other races because let's face it... Blizzard enjoys focusing mainly on the Orcs and Humans. This makes the last two options the blatant choices seeming as though those choices pretty much count for almost every other race in the game. The poll is just leading and biased.

Pandaren are a joke not because of their roots in Kung Fu Panda but simply because their peace loving nature would never have allowed ANY of them to choose to be Horde.

In the lore the Pandaren were friends with the Horde based on circumstances and a love of ale. It's a stretch to see them joining the Horde, but in game you actually see this touched on, they feel a bit uneasy about Garrosh from the start.

I could say the same thing about the gnomes. There is far more pandaren lore (and I like it a lot) than there is gnome lore. So does that make gnomes a joke race? I don't think it does. I would never play a gnome, because they are alliance, *cough* but I don't dislike them. In fact my main alt is a pandaren warrior.

Honestly, something tells me we're going to be having this same back-and-forth next expansion. You argue that it's superfluous, I argue that if XYZ place would have served the story just as well, then Pandaria by extension did the same job and, in my opinion, did it well.

I'm as thoroughly disinterested in a cyclical to and fro as I'm sure you must be. Ultimately, I see Pandaria as an attempt to shore up the damage caused by the cataclysm, and the reason they used Pandaria was specifically because there was no lore for it. They could literally make things up and only have to have the stories last for for one expansion if it went badly (which, statistically, we know it did).

Other in game hints indicate, very clearly, that Pandaria was never thought of as an expansion until recently because the Titan disks never mention it when they otherwise would and even things like the globes in Ulduar don't have the southern land mass we're talking about. I'm sure I saw someone say that was because it hadn't been discovered "yet"... But we're talking about the fucking Titans, for crying out loud, the race that made the entire planet in the first place.

I think we're safe in assuming they knew what the fuck they put on Azeroth, and Ulduar's systems have continued to monitor it.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure that Pandaria will be utterly ignored after this expansion closes and the developers will simply chalk it up as a costly experiment that, with hindsight, wasn't worth the risk. They'll likely avoid any and all future references to the place, to the extent where they're giving people a free level 90 so that they can skip it entirely.

Pandaria was in many ways a breath of fresh air for the devs to flex their creative muscles, and you could totally tell when it first was released. After over 8 years of nothing but fire and lava and big metal spikes and chains and hellscapes, they needed a change of tone and atmosphere. Usually each expansion has it's Ashenvale, it's Mulgore, it's Nagrand, it's Sholazar Basin,... this was an entire expansion almost of those beautiful zones. You could tell Blizzard was more inspired and creative than they'd been in years from all the tiny little details and novel ideas they injected into the game. Dailies were a mistake, but that's a different issue.

Now that they had their vacation to spend some time in enchanted forests and wonderlands, it's time to get back to the kick ass part of Warcraft. WOD is basically Heavy Metal meets Fire and Ice meets Heman meets Thundarr and all those other Caveman Fantasy worlds evocative of Robert E Howard and Moorcock. I love it. And I think Pandaria was necessary to let them flex those creative muscles.

Pandaren are a joke not because of their roots in Kung Fu Panda but simply because their peace loving nature would never have allowed ANY of them to choose to be Horde.

Wandering Isle pandaren join the Horde because the tauren you meet makes it sound like a good fit for the Huojin pandaren--a bit wild, impulsive, but well-intentioned. When you and Ji get to Orgrimmar and listen to Garrosh's racist rant, it's implied with the subtlety of a brick to the head that you two have passed the point of no return and gotten baited and switched--then he throws you into an arena deathmatch.

Now, with Ji freed by the revolutionaries, he's sticking around because the new Warchief is a lot more pleasant than Garrosh was, and the idea of a Horde as a family probably resonates with pandaren well.

Worth noting: pandaren are peaceful, but time and time again they try to drive home that the pandaren don't frown on combat or war. They frown on war for war's sake (which they view as self-destructive) and fighting as a means to an end rather than the resolution of a conflict, but understand the necessity of both (else why would there be so many of them who follow combat-oriented professions even outside the Shado-Pan on the mainland?).

I've never considered the Panderan a joke race but I don't see it as a big problem if they never get any lore ever again either.

They've been sealed on their own island for many years. An island we've just finished exploring the hell out of. There's literally nothing left to discover about them. None of the other playable races have had an ENTIRE expansion devoted to them yet after all.